The Final Frontier
by Lisa B
Summary: Sequel to "I Love The Way You Love Me." Final in series.


Okay, this is the fourth, and last story in my "Loves Reunited" series. It kind of ties up loose ends. I might continue it sometime later, but for now, I'm going to put it on hold for a little bit. If you haven't read the other stories, please do, or you'll be lost! They are "Loves Reunited", "Still the One", and "I Love The Way You Love Me". They're found on http://www.angelfire.com/bc/LisasERPage/fanfics.html  
  
I got the name and song for this fanfic from my favorite show in the whole world, "Mad About You". "ER" is a very close second, but I like "Mad About You" more, if you can imagine. The day I finished this was the day of the season finale, which is titled, "The Final Frontier". It's just kind of my way of say "thanks" to everyone on the show for giving us viewers a great seven years. I'd like to thank everyone who has given me such positive feedback on the series, as well as my "ER" and "Mad About You" buddies, Ally, Rachel, and Julianne for ideas and editing. See the first story in the series, "Loves Reunited" for spoiler info. I don't own most of the characters. Feedback welcome at ERDrLewis@aol.com. Enjoy!

The Final Frontier  
By: Lisa Brown

- Tell me why  
I love you like I do  
Tell me who  
Can start my heart as much as you  
Tell me all of your secrets and I'll  
Tell you most of mine  
They say nobody's perfect, well  
That's really true this time, ëcause  
I don't have the answers  
And I don't have a plan  
All I have is you   
So help me understand  
What we do,   
You can whisper in my ear  
Where we go,  
Who knows what happens after here  
Let's just take each other's hand  
As we jump into the final frontier. 

"Mad About You The Final Frontier", Anita Baker, Paul Reiser, Don Was

  
Susan waved through the window of the day care center in the hospital. It was the first day leaving little Christina there and it was just as nerve-wracking as leaving Little Susie there had been. When she saw that the little one-month old was pretty content, she walked back down the hall to the elevator. She pushed the down button and finally the doors opened. She walked in and saw Carter standing there.

"Hey Carter. How are you?"

Carter smiled. "Great! And how are you on your first day back?"

"Good. I hate to say this, but I missed work."

"Well, how couldn't you miss seeing those gory traumas every day? It's only rational."

The elevator stopped at the ER. "See you later, Carter. Nice talking to you."

"Same here."

Susan walked up to the admit desk to see if there was anything she could take care of. She saw Carol standing at the computer.

"Hey Carol!"

"Hey you! How are you?"

"All right. Glad to be back."

"I know the feeling!" Carol said, laughing.

"Are you sure you don't want us to bring anything for the party, Carol?"

"Nope, Susan, just yourself. And Mark of course," Carol said, grinning. "And Christina. Paul and James seem to have taking a liking to her."

"Hey, a couple of years down the road, we could be in-laws!"

"More than a couple, Sus, they're not even six months old!"

"Oh well. You sure you don't need anything?"

"No, Sus, you have enough to do, it being your first week back. I have Doug slaving away, so everything will be fine for the holiday party."

"So, who's coming?"

"You, Mark, Anna, Carter, Jerry, Lucy, Chuni, Elizabeth, Jeanie. I think that's everyone. Everyone else has other plans, or has to work."

"Wow, you and Doug will have your hands full."

"Well, the boys will be asleep by the time you all come. Of course, they'll probably wake up later, but that'll be fine. So, who'd you get for your Secret Santa?"

"*Secret*."

"Hey! I'll tell you who I got."

"I can wait. Have you seen Mark anywhere around here?"

"*Why*?"

"He just wanted me to let him know when I got here. Are the boys up in day care? I didn't see them when I went up to drop Christina off."

"Nope, home with Daddy."

"Okay, well, I'm off to find Mark. See you tonight!"

  
"Carter, you don't have to drive that fast. They won't care that we're ten minutes late."

He looked over at her. Seeing that she was pretty serious, he slowed down. "Sorry," he said, sheepishly.

Anna smiled. "No problem." She looked out the window. Christmas was three days away and it was snowing like crazy. "I just don't like you driving that fast in this weather. I *do* want to make it to the party."

Carter smiled too. "Of course, anything for the princess."

Anna blushed ever so slightly. She didn't know what it was, but whenever she was around Carter, she could blush so easily.

"Here we are," Carter said.

They grabbed their presents, got out of the car, and went to ring the doorbell.

"Hi guys!" Carol said when she opened the door. She gave each of them a hug and let them inside.

"Sorry we're a little late, it's snowing like mad out there," Carter said.

"No problem. Jeanie and Elizabeth got held up in the ER, so they'll be a little bit late. Everyone else is here. Let me take your coats."

After some ëhello's' and ëhow are you's', Jeanie and Elizabeth had arrived. "So, what's first, dinner or presents?" Carol asked.

Everyone agreed that they were famished and should eat first. When they were done, they all sat in Doug and Carol's living room. Just when they were all settled, they heard crying from upstairs.

"That's mine," Susan said, running upstairs.

"Hey, it's just like the ER. Babies, beepers, whatever," Mark said. "You need any help?"

"Nope," Susan called from upstairs. A few minutes later, she returned. "Sorry about that."

"Are mine okay up there?"

"Yep, sound asleep. So, let's get this show on the road."

  
Everyone had opened their Secret Santa presents except for Carter, Anna, Carol, and Susan.

"Here Carter, you're next," Carol said handing him a package.

"Thanks. Wonder who it's from?" he said, pulling the silver bow off of the present. He opened it and everyone watched. Suddenly, they heard Carter scream, "Anna?!?"

"What?" she said. She knew that that package wasn't from her. He wasn't her Secret Santa. She walked over to the box and saw a book titled, "The Idiot's Guide to Parenting".

"Carter, even though I'm the only one that should be from, that's not from me!"

"Yes!" Lucy said. She walked over and gave Carol and Elizabeth high fives. "Jerry, you were the witness!"

"Huh? What's going on?" Carter asked. Everyone except for Anna and him laughed.

"Is there something we don't know?" Anna asked.

"Yup, there was a bet in the ER on when you would come out and show us that you were really involved, just like the bet two years ago with Carol and Doug. Jerry or Haleh had to be there and there were three choices of when you would do it: before Christmas, between Christmas and New Year's, or before the end of January. Lucy, Carol, and I were the only ones who picked before Christmas, since most people picked in January, and when we found out that Lucy was your Secret Santa, we decided to, ah, influence you a little," Elizabeth said.

Anna just stared at them, her facial expression a mixture of astonishment and embarrassment. "So, you guys knew?"

"Oh, come on, you guys were just a little obvious," Jerry said.

"So, how much did you guys make?"

  
"Carter!" Anna said.

"What? I want to know what people bet on us," Carter said.

"The pot was a little bit more than six hundred bucks."

"Wow."

"Carter, there's another present that I think you'll like a little better in there too," Lucy said. He took of the wrappings and found a nice tie. 

"Thanks, I do like that one better! Okay, who's next?"

Carol grabbed a present and saw it had her name on it. "Oh, this one's mine, let someone else go now." But everyone convinced her to open it. She opened it and found a little box that had a locket on a chain. It had a little card with it. "Thanks Anna! I love it. It's just like Susan's." 

"Yeah, I liked it and asked her where she bought it. I'm glad that you like it."

"Well, since you gave me such a lovely present, here's yours." Carol handed her a box about the same size. Anna opened it.

"Hey, we can all be triplets. Thanks Susan!" she said, pulling out an identical locket.

"When you said you liked it, I went out and bought you one."

"Thanks! I was going to buy myself one, but I didn't have enough money with me to buy two. I'm glad I didn't get it."

"Okay, there's only one present left and it's for Susan," Carol said, handing it over.

Susan thought for a minute, thinking about who it could be from. She hadn't really kept track of who gave presents to whom, so she would just have to open it to find out. She opened the box to find another wrapped one. "Okay, who's the wise guy?" she asked. Everyone laughed. She opened the present and found another box. And another. And another. She finally got down to one last box, but it wasn't a cardboard one, it was a little velvet one. She opened it and found inside the most beautiful ring she had ever seen. It had to be from him. "Mark?"

"Susan, I have a question."

"Yes?"

He gulped. "Will you marry me?"

She looked into his eyes. "Yes, Mark, I will."

  
Everyone had gone home except for Susan, Mark, Carter, and Anna. Paul and James were up and the topic of conversation.

"Oh, you are so *cute*!" Anna said to James. He was sitting in her lap and playing with the new locket around her neck.

"Hey, when are you and Carter going to have one?" Doug said, grinning.

"Not for some while," Anna said, insistently. "We're taking our relationship slow. Kids are not in the picture right now."

"Oh, that's good, because you can borrow ours anytime you want!"

"Doug!" Carol said, playfully punching him in the arm.

"I was just kidding."

"We'll borrow them any time you want. You like that, don't you?" Anna said to James, who was still playing with her locket. He was trying to get it in his mouth.

"James, don't eat Anna's present," Carol said. "Here, come sit with Paul on Daddy's lap." She reached over and sat James next to Doug.

Christina, who had been sleeping, suddenly let out a loud wail. "Hey, it's all right. Shh," Susan said, picking her up. The infant suddenly quieted down. "Do Paul and James keep you up all night?"

"Not too much. But of course, if one wakes up, he wakes the other up. They're better now. When they first came home, we barely slept!" Carol said, taking Paul from Doug. "How about Christina?"

"Surprisingly, no. If you put her down to sleep, she usually sleeps through the night."

Paul became fussy and grabbed at Carol's shirt. "Well, there's a man who knows what he wants!" Mark said.

"He takes after his father," Doug replied. Everyone laughed.

"He's hungry, I'll be right back. Can I get anyone anything?" Carol asked. After a round of no's she head into the kitchen.

"Has Rachel seen Christina yet?" Doug asked.

"Nope. She calls almost every night for an update though. I think she talks to Susan more than she talks to me now!" Mark said. Everyone laughed. "She's coming down the day after Christmas and staying through New Year's though."

"That's good. Hey, buddy, what are you trying to do?" Doug said to James, who was trying to get off of Doug's lap. "You want to go see Carter or something?" Carter was sitting next to Doug.

"Come here, you," Carter said, picking James up. Carol suddenly returned.

"Did I miss anything?" she asked.

"Not really," Anna said, looking at her watch. "Man, it's getting late. I have to be on at six. We had better get going." She and Carter got their stuff together and said their good-byes. Susan and Mark got their stuff together too, since they also had to be on tomorrow. Finally, everyone was gone.

"Should we clean this up now, or wait until tomorrow?" Doug asked.

"It's not too bad. I'm just glad we used paper plates!"

"Me too. I would not be happy if I was up until who knows when doing dishes."

"Come on, let's put the babies in bed so we can clean up."

  
Doug had cleaned up all of the wrapping paper, at last. Carol was looking tired, so he has sent her to bed. She had wanted to wait for him, but he insisted he would be up soon. He had finally cleaned up the whole downstairs. It was about midnight, and he wanted to get to bed. Thank goodness he wasn't on until the afternoon tomorrow. He wanted a good night's sleep. On his way up to bed, he stopped in the babies' room. He looked in their cribs and saw them sleeping so soundly. He liked to watch them sleep too, almost as much as he loved to watch Carol sleep. After watching for a few minutes, he decided he should get to bed. When he got there, Carol was already asleep. He changed into his boxers and an old T-shirt and got into bed. He was glad that Carol was there too.

  
"Shh, shh! Don't wake Mommy up! Shh, it's okay," Mark said to Christina. "We'll just change your diaper and you'll be all right. Shh. Hey, there's my pretty girl's smile!" Mark said when Christina smiled. "Did you know that you're a very special girl? You have me, whatever you think I should be. You have a wonderful mom, who loves you. I love you too. I love your mom a lot too. I asked her to marry me tonight." He thought back to when he had asked Doug's opinion. He was going to give her the ring, he just didn't know if he should do it at the party or at home. Doug replied that he had the guts to ask in front of the whole ER, he should too! "There, all better now, huh? Rachel comes in in two days, and she is just going to love you to pieces. Well, then again, who couldn't? Okay, let's put you back in your crib now. That's a girl. Night, night," he said, giving her a kiss and turning off the lights. He walked back to the bed and saw Susan laying there asleep. God, she sure is beautiful. He got under the covers and she snuggled up next to him. This holiday season had been the best he had ever had, and it had barely started. He still couldn't believe that he asked her to marry him. He wasn't sure he would have the courage to do it. He wasn't sure about much, especially what the future held. He was only sure of one thing, that there was a beautiful woman laying next to him, and she loved him. He loved her too.

  
Anna was sure that she was going to be tired in the morning. It was almost one and she had to be in at six. Oh well, she would live. It meant that she had Christmas morning off to sleep in with Carter. Also, there was that one thing she had wanted to ask him . . . . "Carter?" Anna whispered. She wasn't sure if he was asleep yet.

"Hmm?" he answered.

"You asleep?"

"Nope, just thinking of you." He smiled. Anna blushed.

"You are so sweet. Anyway, I was wondering . . . you know, you've spent almost every night here since I came back. You could move in if . . . if you wanted to."

"Really? I didn't want to ask since that's kind of a big commitment."

"Carter, I didn't care about the commitment stuff, I just wanted to take it kind of slow. I love you, you love me, why not move in? It's not helpful to pay rent on a room that you don't use," Anna said, smiling.

"Yeah, I know. Okay, then, we can get my stuff together tomorrow. I'll tell Kerry. When are you off?"

"Six PM. You?"

"Five. So we can do that after our shifts. Anna?"

"Yes?"

"I love you."

"I love you too," Anna said. "I'm going to sleep now, I have to be on in five hours."

"Good night," Carter said, leaning down to kiss her.

"Night," Anna said, returning the kiss.

Carter rested his chin on Anna's hair. He was a happy man. He was moving in. With Anna. He wasn't sure what that would bring, but it had to be good. He smiled before drifting off to sleep.

-Well, here we go  
Let's trust out love will persevere  
ëCause don't you know  
It's only love that got us here.  
And if we take each other's hand  
We can fly into the final frontier.  
Final frontier . . ."

"Mad About You The Final Frontier", Anita Baker, Paul Reiser, Don Was  



End file.
